1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot-holder for a sailboard or similar sports device which glides or rolls on a bearing medium. The user acts on the position of an orientable mast by means of a boom or wishbone attached to the sail with his or her feet resting on the sailboard or on a shaped support as the user moves over the bearing medium and is propelled under the action of the wind on the sail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known that in a device of this type, the user's body is normally placed laterally with respect to the longitudinal direction of the sailboard, thus forming a balance as his arms hold the wishbone in order to counterbalance the reaction of the wind on the sail and to ensure stability of the device while at the same time controlling the various movements of the sailboard, its increase in speed or on the contrary its braking action. During these movements, the user's feet have to be fixed on the sailboard surface for most of the time in order to ensure effective support without any attendant danger of slipping. Such an undesirable event would be liable not only to produce a disagreeable fall but even to cause an accident if such a fall were to be accompanied by abrupt twisting or flexure of the leg or foot in an orientation which is contrary to a natural movement.
In order to overcome this disadvantage, manufacturers of sailboards have long made it a practice to place on the top surface of sailboards at suitable locations flexible hoops generally known as foot-straps in which the user engages each foot. A hoop of this type forms a foot-holder and is usually constituted by a strap secured at each end to the sailboard. However, in conventional designs, if the user's feet are effectively and correctly immobilized on the sailboard during use, the more so as the strap is correctly tightened so as to leave only a limited clearance between the foot and the internal face of the strap, a risk of accident is not thereby removed and may even be increased in the event of a fall if the user cannot immediately withdraw his feet which thus remain locked in position with respect to the sailboard. This is the case in particular of acrobatic figures in which the user performs high jumps above the waves and in which there is a greater danger of falling with all its attendant consequences.
The present invention is directed to a safety device which overcomes these disadvantages by making it possible, in the event of sudden twisting or flexure of a user's feet or legs and in particular in the event of a fall, to effect instantaneous release of the foot-holder in which the user has normally engaged each foot.